The NorCal Margarita
The fitness geeks at CrossFit have been turning me into something of a nutrition geek of late. Along those lines, Robb Wolf’s blog and Paleolithic Solution podcast have been hugely informative. Rather than attempt to summarize the paleo diet here, I encourage you to check out Robb’s blog and podcast if you are at all into exercise and nutrition. Good stuff.
One particular gem of a discovery is the NorCal Margarita. It’s a tasty adult beverage that the nutrition geek can enjoy, thanks to science!
- 2–3 shots of 100% agave tequila.
- Juice and pulp from one lime.
- Shake it all up with some ice.
- Add soda water to taste.
Also, I’ve found that it can help to make a few of them at a time, to average out the different sizes of limes.
This drink is wonderful, for a few reasons:
- Tequila is delicous.
- Tequila is fermented agave juice, which makes it gluten- or and starch-free. Gluten, as nutrition geeks know, is a gut irritant and just generally bad stuff, and starches are way too dense with unnecessary carbs. Rum could likewise work well here.
- Lime juice blunts the insulin response of the alcohol, maintaining your precious and hard-earned insulin sensitivity.
- The lime juice also provides a net alkaline load when it gets to the blood stream, which is a good thing. Most other foods provide a net acid load, and it’s nice to balance that out.
- The carbon dioxide bubbles in the soda water help get the ethanol into your blood more quickly. This has the practical effect of allowing you to drink a bit less for the same effect.
Yum!